September 25-27, 2023 – Canyon, TX

 Monday, we drove into Canyon and went to the Chamber of Commerce where we got information on the area.  In the afternoon we to the Creek House Honey Farm where we couldn’t resist buying some chocolate honey.  We then went next door to the Honey Buzz Winery and had a delicious fruit and cheese tray while tasting their great mead and hard cider.  We bought some growlers of their excellent cherry mead and pear cider.

Tuesday morning, we drove to Palo Duro Canyon State Park.  Palo Duro Canyon is approximately 120 miles long and 600 to 800 feet deep.  It is the second largest canyon in the US.  The State Park consists of 27,173 acres and the original park land was deeded by private owners in 1933.  The CCC worked in the park from 1933 to 1937 building the roads, visitor center, cabins, shelters, bridges, trails and the park headquarters.

We took a short hike on the Paseo Del Rio trail along the Dog Town Fork of the Red River.  The trail guide said we would come upon a cowboy dugout to see how the cowboys lived in the 1880’s.  We walked the trail in both directions and never did see a dugout.  Anyway, we had a nice hike and Tacky enjoyed being out on the trail.  After our hike we ate a picnic lunch and because it was very warm we called it a day.

 

Wednesday morning, we left Tacky at the motorhome and drove to the Goodnight Historical Center in Goodnight, TX about 30 miles east of Canyon.  Charles Goodnight was a scout and guide for The Texas Rangers in 1865.  In 1866, he joined Oliver Loving for the purpose of driving cattle from Texas to shipping points in Colorado along what is now called the Goodnight-Loving Trail.  In 1876 he and John Adair formed the JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon.  The ranch eventually grew to 1.3 million acres.  When John Adair died his widow and Goodnight decided to amicably split and the Goodnight Ranch emerged beside the JA Ranch.   Goodnight was an inventor and two of his inventions are the chuckwagon for use on cattle drives and the side saddle for his wife to use on their move from Pueblo, CO to the Texas panhandle.

Charles built his wife, Mary Ann, a Victorian house on the ranch in 1887.  We were able to tour this beautifully restored home.

We loved the front door.   The door and the colored glass are all original to the house.

During the restoration the wallpaper was stripped away to the original and then matched as close as possible.  Most of the Goodnight’s furniture is gone but the house is furnished with period pieces.

This was Charlie’s room.  As with most Victorian couples, they slept in separate bedrooms.  Charlie slept in a sleeping porch on the 2^nd floor and could descend outside stairs to this room without disturbing Mary Ann.

Goodnight allowed the shooting of bison on his ranch to make room for his cattle, but Mary Ann became concerned that the bison would become extinct.  Through their efforts the bison were saved and for many years the descendants of that bison herd remained on the JA Ranch.  Bison from their herd have been shipped to Yellowstone National Park and many other places in the country.  To commemorate Mary Ann’s efforts, her niece created this beautiful bronze sculpture of Mary Ann and 2 bison calves.  We enjoyed the tour of the beautiful home and learning more about Charles and Mary Ann Goodnight.

We then decided to drive the short distance to the town of Goodnight but there wasn’t much there.  A few homes and some deserted and dilapated buildings. We ate lunch at a little café in Claude, TX and drove a route home that intersected Palo Duro Canyon about halfway down the canyon.  This picture looking back across the canyon gives you an idea of how wide the canyon is.

We enjoyed our day, especially touring the Goodnight home.